Rachel Gatina
Rachel Virginia Gatina is a former student of Tree Hill High School who joined at the start of her senior year. Initially an antagonist to Brooke Davis she posed a threat to her captainship of the cheerleading team and her relationship with Lucas. However, the two eventually formed a close friendship in the second half of senior year. Rachel also had a close friendship with Mouth and Bevin. After graduating high school, however, Rachel worked for Clothes Over Bros as a model but was eventually let go due to her drug problem. She attempted to repair her life with Brooke and Peyton but eventually fled Tree Hill when Victoria told her she wouldn't amount to anything. Character History Before the Series Rachel Gatina was born to wealth, yet slightly absentee parents who, she has noted, were never particularly strict on her and let her make her own decisions. When Rachel was growing up she was an obese adolescent and developed serious insecurities about herself and the way she looked, which would continue to haunt her long into her teenage life. Deciding that she wasn't happy with the girl she was, she decided to make a change and started by having her stomach stapled and "starving herself" and then treated herself with a various other surgeries. Rachel effectively became a new person and said goodbye to the old her, referring to her as a different person altogether. She reinvented herself as one of the popular and the elite, something which came easily given her new attractive looks. She, however, had to reinvent herself several times in many different schools due to the fact that she never stayed in one school for long either moving or being expelled. She was expelled from four different high schools before arriving attending Tree Hill High School; John Adams High School, Pembrooke High School, La Salle High School and finally Grant High School. For each high school she attended she would put all of her memories of her time there such as photographs and letters into a small box, something she would do for the final time towards the end of her senior year at THHS. At the start of her senior year Rachel and her family moved to Tree Hill. Season 3 dance at the Masquerade Party. ]] Having arrived in Tree Hill, Rachel chose to attend the upcoming Masquerade party dressed as Pamela Anderson. At the same time, Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott were dating non-exclusively and Brooke had manipulated Lucas into dressing as Tommy Lee as a test in one of the many games the two were playing because Brooke was ready to open her heart to Lucas. Her plan backfired, however, as Rachel approached Lucas and asked him to dance unless he was seeing someone. As per the rules of their non-exclusivity, Lucas said he wasn't making Brooke feel jealous. The two spend the majority of the party together, despite Lucas still wanting to prove his love for Brooke. The following day at school Brooke and Peyton held cheerleading tryouts and, after a series of terrible auditions Rachel arrived. Still bitter about her flirtation with Lucas, Brooke was initially dismissive of Rachel and her sexy routine. Since she arrived late Broke decides that Rachel cannot join the squad. Brooke's rivalry with Rachel developed even further when she attempted to pick a girl at school for Lucas to date, and he inadvertently believed she had selected Rachel. Also, Bevin and the other cheerleaders started befriending her. Brooke started to worry that Rachel was stealing her life due to her dating Lucas and the cheerleading squad developing a "girl crush" on her. In a bid to force Rachel out, Brooke asked Haley to take her place on the cheerleading squad. Rachel became aware of the fact that her pseudo-relationship with Lucas was just a bid to make Brooke jealous but she agreed nonetheless and planned a date with him for that night. On their date Rachel and Lucas visited Suburban Filth and Rachel continued to taunt Brooke developing the animosity between them. As Midnight Madness, the start of the basketball season, approached Rachel infuriated Brooke by taking the squad for a pre-show beverage forcing Brooke to assert that it is "her" squad. When Haley arrived, having agreed to be a cheerleader, Brooke fired Rachel but Bevin and the others rebelled wanting her to be part of the team. face off at Midnight Madness. ]]Eventually both Haley and Rachel became part of the team. During the routine at Midnight Madness, Brooke and Rachel battled for the spotlight and ended up exchanging verbal blows. When Nathan and Lucas started fighting, the feuding girls followed suit eventually involving the entire cheerleading squad in the physical fight. After the game, Rachel copied Brooke's signature move of being naked in the back of Lucas' car and, after finding them, Brooke punched Rachel in the face. When infighting between the cheerleaders became problematic Brooke organized a Fantasy Boy Draft, which also served to stop Rachel and Lucas from being together. However, Rachel manipulated the draft so it would go in her favor, and not Brooke's. She had Brooke believe she wanted to pick Chris Keller, so Brooke planned to steal Chris and have Haley pick Lucas so Rachel could not. However, Rachel swapped with Bevin so she picked earlier than Haley, leaving Brooke stuck with Chris and Lucas with Rachel. Following the draft Rachel and Lucas had to go on a date, where she tried to seduce him. However, he remained persistent that he loved Brooke. Despite this, she continued to playfully flirt with Lucas to irritate Brooke, for instance when the cheerleaders decorated the team's lockers on the day of the first game, it was Rachel who decorated Lucas' locker and not Brooke. After Brooke slept with Chris, Rachel told Lucas to move on to whatever made him happy, but decided she didn't want to be part of his plan to make Brooke jealous anymore. that Rogue Vogue and the Classic are on the same weekend. ]] After conceding defeat to Brooke over Lucas after the two former a relationship, Rachel then set her sights on Mouth and introduced herself to him giving Brooke another reason to feel irritated at Rachel, who she believed was now trying to steal her friend. While befriending Mouth, Rachel also began her plan to take captainship of the cheer squad by submitting Brooke's designs to Rogue Vogue, a fashion show for up and coming designers. Brooke saw Rachel's act as a sign of friendship but remained unaware that it was all part of her scheme. Later at school, Rachel started to take control of the squad by creating the routine for the Classic Tournament. When Brooke, once more, stated that it was her team Rachel told her that the Classic and Rogue Vogue were the same weekend meaning she wouldn't be able to captain the team. Nonetheless, Brooke decided to try and do both, but she still felt worried about Mouth and Rachel's friendship. Rachel's relationship with Mouth grew even more when they spend the night together in her room during a torrential rain storm. While watching the movie, Mouth tried to kiss Rachel having misinterpreted her invitation to watch a movie in the blackout as something more. Mouth then apologized to her but she brushed it off and tried to get him to be more confident by playing mind games with girls. At the end of the night, Rachel tried to kiss Mouth but he turned her down saying that when the lights come on they'll just go back to who they are and they won't be together. He told her that if the day came that she woke up and had to kiss him, and then he would kiss her. He then left her house leaving Rachel alone. The following day at school the two seemed closer than ever but it seemed Rachel really was using Mouth to get to Brooke. The weekend of the Classic soon arrived and with Brooke, Peyton and Haley at Rogue Vogue, Rachel took control of the cheerleading squad but soon Bevin and the others grew tired of her leadership. She became determined to win and forced the cheerleaders to practice none stop until the tournament and the cheerleaders started wanting Brooke, who stayed in New York when she was forced to choose between the tournament and the fashion show, to take control of the squad. With Peyton struggling with the death of her birth mother, Rachel reached out to Peyton. In another bid to hurt Brooke she manipulated her fellow students into switching rooms - a scheme which resulted in Lucas and Peyton sharing a room. Rachel and Peyton's night resulted in Rachel getting Peyton drunk so the morning of the tournament with Brooke in New York and Peyton suffering Rachel prepared to take center stage during the routine. However, Brooke arrived at the Classic and opposed Rachel, telling the girls to "have fun". During the routine a hung-over Peyton tripped another cheerleader and, with the routine in pieces, Brooke decided to have fun and dance. When the other cheerleaders followed her, Rachel refused leaving the stage having learned she could never take the squad from Brooke. that she released the time capsule. ]] Having been dejected by the cheerleading squad, Rachel decided to shake things up among the THHS students by releasing the time capsule the students made at the end of their junior year releasing it around the school and on the internet. While the students remained unaware that it was her who released the videos which caused tension for fellow students - most notably Brooke, Nathan, Haley and Jimmy Edwards who slandered his classmates on his message. Her decision turned deadly however when a beaten and out casted Jimmy brought a handgun to school. After he fired a shot in the hallway, Rachel found herself in the tutor center with Haley, Abby, Marcus, Mouth, Skills and Jimmy Edwards who kept his identity as the shooter a secret. When Nathan and Mouth arrived Jimmy pulled the gun on the students revealing himself to be the shooter. Rachel was quick to demonize Jimmy after he put the blame on Mouth for changing and becoming just like the rest of them. The shooting resulted in the deaths of both Jimmy Edwards and Keith Scott, both of which died due to the implications of Rachel's actions. While dealing with the guilt Rachel and Brooke banded together to organize a party in the school - with everyone invited so everyone could heal together, in their own way. During the party, Rachel revealed to Mouth that she released the time capsule and that he should stop blaming himself for Jimmy's death, because she is to blame. Hurt, Mouth immediately left the party and abandoned his friendship with Rachel. discovers Rachel is dating Cooper. ]] As people started to heal from the fallout of the shooting Rachel decided to help them by inviting the gang to her parent's cabin in the woods for a getaway. However Mouth quickly, and correctly, assessed that the trip was simply Rachel trying to alleviate her guilt for releasing the time capsule. Rachel tried to use the weekend to build bridges with Mouth but failed as he told her that he was only at the cabin to support his friends, especially Lucas who was still recovering from Keith's death. As the weekend drew to a close Mouth and Rachel finally repaired their friendship when they actually talked about it and Rachel decided to tell everyone she was responsible. Mouth, however, tells her not to so people can continue healing. Also during the weekend, Brooke's rivalry with Rachel came back to the forefront when she caught Brooke, as Rachel quoted it, "Brooking" herself. During a game of 'I Never' Rachel revealed to the group the predicament she caught Brooke the day previously, forcing Brooke to try and get even. Rachel prevented her friends from assessing a cabinet which she said was private, but before leaving Brooke broke into the cabinet and found the pictures of Rachel before the surgery, revealing who she used to be. At some point, Rachel met Nathan's Uncle Cooper Lee and the two formed a relationship, with Rachel lying about her age saying she was a 26-year-old-model. Rachel posted pictures on the internet and Cooper replied and, when the two met, Rachel decided to lie about who she was. Rachel, however, faced more pressing matters when the pictures from the cabinet revealing Rachel before she had surgery were displayed around the town on posters teasing that the identity of the girl would soon be revealed. Clearly disturbed, Rachel told Mouth it was someone she once knew, who was now gone. Mouth discovered it was Rachel in the photos and returned them to her and then told him about her surgeries. After starting to feel that he and Rachel were more alike, Mouth started to feel as if he and Rachel could have a relationship and decided to tell her how he felt, but Cooper and Rachel answered the door, leaving Mouth heartbroken. . ]]Mouth and Brooke then teamed up to take Rachel down for leading him on. The two then discovered that Rachel lied to Cooper about her age they planned to reveal the truth to him. Mouth eventually stopped the plan, telling Cooper to take care of Rachel. However, at the following basketball game Cooper learned the truth when he saw Rachel in as part of the cheerleading squad. Rachel later visited Cooper and he demanded to know the truth and, despite him protesting that they cannot be together, they slept together again. After Cooper left her, Rachel tried to get back into his life leaving many messages and started punishing herself for letting him go. Being rejected by Cooper forced all of Rachel's insecurities to rise to the forefront once again which caused her to smash a mirror in a clothes store with her fist. Brooke found her and soon saw the insecure person behind her confidence nemesis when she told her "I need him to like me". Brooke covered for Rachel and, later, at Nathan and Haley's rehearsal dinner Rachel confided in Brooke and the two seemed to put their animosity aside. lives hang in the balance in the submerged wedding limo. ]] On the day of Nathan and Haley's wedding Cooper approached Rachel and said that sleeping with her was a mistake and that they would never be together. Feeling more and more jealous of Cooper talking to other women, Rachel tried to mask her pain by drowning her sorrows, resorting to stealing a bottle of champagne from the bar after seeing Cooper and Peyton dancing, eventually becoming increasingly inebriated. After the best men, Lucas and Cooper, and maid of honor, Brooke, made their speeches a drunken Rachel decided to toast the newlyweds in a speech directed to Cooper. Addressing Cooper's toast about love, she questioned what Nathan and Haley could know about love since they were only 17 then reveal that she slept with him. She toasts to "sex with Cooper" before running out with Cooper in toe. Rachel then steals the wedding limo and Cooper is forced to get inside to stop her from doing something stupid. Cooper managed to get Rachel to drive back to the reception after he admitted he did like her, but never wanted anything serious. While driving back an emotional Rachel revealed she had something to tell Cooper, and lied and said she was pregnant. Cooper refused to believe her and she tried to grab the steering wheel to pull the car over. The two struggled for control as the approached the Molina Bridge where they nearly collided with Nathan and Haley in Lucas' car. Swerving to dodge them, Cooper lost control of the car causing it to break through the barriers and fall into the water with Rachel and Cooper inside placing Rachel's fate in question. Season 4 after the accident. ]] Nathan jumped into the river to try and save Rachel and Cooper became trapped himself leaving all three underwater. Lucas eventually jumped in himself but found the car empty and, after Lucas found Cooper, Nathan and Rachel were missing. Lucas, however, found both of them on the side of the River and all three of them were rushed to Tree Hill Hospital. Rachel eventually woke to a frosty reception from her fellow students, especially Haley who openly blamed her for the disaster. However, she did find Brooke at her bedside. While the two resumed their bitchy relationship they seemed to start a genuine friendship, something Brooke needed after cutting all ties to Peyton. Rachel then visited a comatose Rachel and apologised when she ran into sheriff who hinted that she could be prosecuted as it was well known she was driving while drunk. Rachel was present in Cooper's room when he flat lined and, traumatized, she watched as the doctors brought him back. While dealing with her guilt, Rachel and Brooke grew closer and Rachel asked Brooke to move into her house with her. Cooper eventually awoke and took the blame for the crash, protecting Rachel but only because he thought she was pregnant. She then confessed to Cooper that she wasn't pregnant, and she just wanted to say something so he wouldn't leave her. He effectively ended their romance once and for all. Cooper then left Tree Hill for good, leaving Rachel devastated. Trying to move past her break up with Cooper, Rachel helped Brooke celebrate her 18th birthday and, as usual, left Brooke to have a one night stand with someone she met in the bar. However, her feelings for Cooper interfered and she found herself leaving his house, ashamed. She returned home to Brooke, they discussed the boys in Tree Hill where Rachel stated that they were all boring compared to Cooper. When Brooke asked if she could ever fall for someone their age she looked at a picture of Nathan - replying "maybe". watches Rachel flirting with Nathan. ]] Rachel's infatuation with Nathan grew and she searched for a way to get closer to him and used the car accident as a way in as Nathan needed to talk to someone who was also trying to make sense of what happened. At the following basketball game, Nathan was awarded for his bravery and Rachel kissed him, giving him a "proper thank you", something which infuriated Haley who told her to stay away from Nathan. Rachel later overheard Nathan and Peyton talking where he told her that he thought Keith saved him and she later approached him, and lied saying that she saw Keith as well. Brooke then confronted Rachel about trying to seduce Nathan but Rachel turned the tables and revealed that she knew Brooke was pregnant. Incorrectly believing Brooke to be pregnant, Rachel tried to persuade her to have an abortion and not "ruin her life". At the same time, Rachel participated in a Hometown Hotties photo shoot for Maxim while still trying to seduce Nathan. While at Tric watching Lupe Fiasco perform live, Rachel, in a bid to connect with Nathan, lied and said she also saw Keith in the water the night of the car accident. tells Rachel about Haley's pregnancy. ]] Rachel's attempts to seduce Nathan, however, came to an abrupt end when Haley revealed she, and not Brooke, was pregnant. Rachel invited Nathan over to her house, saying she wanted to talk about the accident. Nathan however revealed Haley's pregnancy and Rachel instantly backed off and admitted that she didn't see Keith. When she asked if she would ever had a chance, Nathan told her "not for a second." Having lost both Cooper and Nathan, Rachel turned her attention to Brooke's love life and set her up with Nick Chavez who agreed to date her under the impression she was 23 years old. When they discovered Nick to be their new English teacher, Rachel told Brooke it was her mess to get out of. Rachel's Maxim photo shoot eventually made the front page, causing chaos in Tree Hill High restoring Rachel's confidence to the way it was. Brooke and Rachel's friendship, however, faced a tumulus future when Rachel made a move on Nick, Brooke's boyfriend and then lied to Brooke saying that Nick tried to kiss her saying he was a "bad guy". Brooke eventually discovered the truth and confronted Rachel, saying that she was "just starting to think she was a real person". However, when Brooke found Nick cheating on her with a model, Rachel comforted her and they restored their friendship. win. ]] Rachel, however, proved her loyalty to Brooke as a friend when she discovered that Brooke was failing calculus and she didn't tell her. Instead Rachel asked the guidance councillor what failing calculus this late in the year would mean and discovered that Brooke wouldn't graduate if she failed. Having devised a plan to help Brooke pass, Rachel approached Haley and asked her to tutor her in calculus. Haley refused saying that "she can't stand Rachel." Brooke, however, approached Haley and asked her to give Rachel a second chance and Haley agreed to tutor Rachel. The following day on the day of the State Championship Rachel started to be tutored by Haley but the two maintained their bitchy and antagonistic relationship. During the tutoring session Rachel noticed that Haley had a key to the cabinet in which all the tests were kept. She joked that Haley should give her the test in exchange for payment but Haley didn't find the joke funny, telling Rachel that she is trusted by the school to keep them confidential. However, when Haley's pregnancy took a turn for the worst after the girls headed for the state championship, Rachel, like Peyton, Brooke and Bevin were there to support her when they rushed her to the hospital. Despite missing the first half of the game, the cheerleaders with Haley returned to the game to see the Ravens win the championship. After the game, Haley noticed that Rachel aced the quiz she had her sit and Rachel then revealed to Brooke that she could pass calculus in her sleep and it was Brooke who has failing calculus. She then revealed that she had stolen Haley's key to the cabinet so she and Brooke could steal the test. outs Rachel as an imposter among the Clean Teens. ]] Returning to school after the State Championship, Rachel prepared to steal the calculus test despite Brooke's inital reluctance especially given that they were betraying Haley. Brooke revealed that she spent the whole night studying for the test and they wouldn't need to steal it but when she failed the test she turned to Rachel who had made a copy of the cabinet key. That night they broke into the school and managed to get the calculus test from the cabinet, passing a Clean Teens meeting on the way. However, while leaving the school they ran into Principle Turner and Rachel was forced to say they were in school for the Clean Teen meeting. Shelley Simon then induced them into the Clean Teens. Rachel's time as a clean teen, however, was short lived when Shelley recieved a video of her stripping at a college party. She was banished from Clean Teens, but Brooke chose to stay because of the latest member Chase. Brooke, however, then learned that the school had become aware of the test theft and the Principle affirmed that the student responsibe would be expelled. She and Brooke steal the calculus test hen the school discovers that the tests have been stolen, they make all the suspects complete another test, to which Rachel places her name on Brooke’s test, taking full blame for the cheating. This causes her to be expelled, embark on a road trip with Mouth and eventually leave him during their travels. She graduates in absence of being at the ceremony after Brooke confesses that she was the one who cheated. The Missing Years After graduating High School, Rachel moved to New York and began working as a model for Brooke's company Clothes Over Bros. She was, however, introduced to the darker side of living in New York when she started doing drugs, developing a series cocaine addiction. Her modelling work started to suffer due to her addiction but Brooke kept her around because of their friendship. Season 5 Brooke was determined to keep Rachel in her employ, but taking a more tactical and business-like approach Victoria Davis demanded that she was fired from the company. Victoria suprises Brooke by revealing that they will have to fire the model, and Brooke will have to do it, despite their close friendship. That night, a tearful Brooke called Rachel and informed her that she wouldn't be needed at the next photoshoot, or any photoshoots after that. Sadly, she told Rachel that it wasn't personal and hung up. Season 7 Rachel returns in the season's second episode and is introduced as Dan Scott's new wife. Relationships *Cooper Lee **Start Up: Before "I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me" (3x19) **Break Up: "Everyday Is A Sunday Evening" (3x20) ***Reason: Cooper learned that Rachel was a only 17 and lied about her age. *Dan Scott **Start Up: Before "What Are You Willing To Lose?" (7x02) **Married: Before "What Are You Willing To Lose?" (7x02) Trivia *Despite her surname being spelt Gatina on the series, the CW website listed the character's last name as Gattina Category:Main Characters Category:Tree Hill High Students Category:Tree Hill Cheerleaders Category:Clean Teens Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Season 5 Characters